Oct 20 2017

This Week in Forensic Science

No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!

A study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology found only evidence of Polynesian DNA in human remains on the island that predate European contact in 1722. Though the sample size was small, the findings may change what we know about the early explorers who found the remote island and constructed perhaps some of the most iconic statues in the world.

At the Akron Police Department there is a backlog of 400 to 500 CODIS hits produced by elimination of the backlog of rape kits. The hits are all potential breakthroughs in long-unsolved sexual assaults—but they don’t lead anywhere if the manpower isn’t there to do the follow-up work, said Lt. David Whiddon, supervisor in the APD’s Crimes Against Persons unit.

NPR’s Ari Shapiro speaks with Fire Captain Specialist Ron Eldridge of Cal Fire about fire forensics and what approaches investigators take when they’re faced with many miles of scorched earth, like the situation in northern California now.

THE Lagos State Government, penultimate week, commissioned its DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) forensic laboratory. It is the first state-owned DNA laboratory in the country. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had, last year, approved the DNA laboratory project as part of the criminal justice sector reforms designed to solve crimes through technology.

When a public appeal for help failed to generate leads, the Police Department turned to a forensic technique called phenotyping, which uses DNA from the biological matter people leave behind, like skin and blood, to predict their appearance.

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